Hong Kong primed for T20 Asia Cup India cricket clash, stars atoning for 2024 heartbreak

Leading all-rounder Kary Chan ready to treat every ball ‘like it’s my last’ two years after locking herself away following qualifying failure

After Hong Kong stumbled at the final 2024 Asia Cup qualifying hurdle, Kary Chan Ka-ying spent five navel-gazing days hiding from the outside world.

“I can still remember the pain in my heart … I kept asking myself, ‘what if I’d done something differently?’” Chan said.

Two years later and rather than being cooped up indoors, Chan is with her teammates preparing for a Women’s Twenty20 Asia Cup in Dubai where Hong Kong have the redoubtable task of facing Thailand, Pakistan and mighty India.

Chan was among the players who spent a short time in hospital after illness swept through the camp during their ongoing preparation trip to Sri Lanka, but it would take more than a bout of bellyache to dampen enthusiasm over the city team’s return to the tournament after 14 years away.

In 2012, proficient all-rounder Chan was a wide-eyed 15-year-old who “wasn’t even given a chance to run water onto the field … I sat next to the coach to learn”.

“From then, playing in the Asia Cup became one of my life dreams,” she said.